3rd horse injured in fatal shooting in Winston-Salem

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Winston-Salem police say they have now recovered all three vehicles wanted in connection to what they described as a “heinous crime” after three horses were shot -- one fatally -- on Saturday.

“I think I’m still kind of in the -- I’m going to wake up and this is going to be a bad dream,” said Kaye Johnson, the owner of one of the surviving horses, Dixie.

Police say around 7:40 a.m. Saturday, they were dispatched to the Muddy Creek greenway after reports of two to three vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed on the greenway, which is designated for pedestrians and cyclists.

“As a grandmother, knowing that there’s people and children all over the place there, that’s scary,” Johnson said.

Officers initially found that two horses had been shot. The horse who was killed was named Jelly and Dixie was the injured horse.

“They were best friends,” Johnson said. “The first several days after Jelly died, Dixie would just call and call and call.”

On Tuesday, police confirmed that a third horse, whose owners say is named Cisco, was also shot. Cisco’s injuries are considered minor. Police believe Cisco was injured in the same shooting, not a separate one.

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Johnson tells FOX8 that shotgun shells were found lining the fencing where the horses were located.

“To me that says, maybe they wanted to kill them all,” she said.

Johnson says Dixie’s body is still littered with pellets from the shooting, but she’s expected to recover.

“From her chin, all the way back across her right side and down under her belly were just lumps,” she added.

After the shootings were discovered, police released images of a Chevrolet Impala, a yellow truck and a Ford Bronco wanted in connection. On Sunday, police announced that the Impala, which had been reported stolen on May 7, had been found.

Property inside the Impala led officers to identify the Bronco. The owner of the Bronco had been out of town and was unaware the vehicle had been stolen.

Police announced that they recovered both the Bronco and the yellow truck in the 3100 block of North Glenn Avenue on Tuesday. Both vehicles were unoccupied.

“These people just don’t care about anything,” Johnson said, of the people responsible for the shootings.

On Tuesday, owners of all three horses sent FOX8 images of community support, including a painted rock along the fence line reading “R.I.P.” as well as a cross which has been decorated in Jelly’s honor.

Jelly was buried at a nearby plot of land behind a cross bearing her name.

Winston-Salem CrimeStoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the people responsible for the shootings. Fur-Ever-Friends of North Carolina is also offering a reward of $1,000. Owners of the horses say they and community members are also planning to offer a separate reward.​